Strong early results for sailing teams show promise for long season

Four top two finishes in five competitions over spring break has the sailing teams in high spirits. The coed and women's teams were both in action over the spring break weekends.

For the sailing team, spring break signifies the start of its season. Its annual trip to St. Mary's College in Maryland is a time for team building as well as fierce competition.

"Most other schools start practicing in January and these past weeks were the first action we saw as a team," said coed team captain Pete Levesque.

Despite this obstacle, the Tufts teams showed no signs of rust. Led by strong upperclassmen and confidence from success in previous years the sailing teams were able to open the season without missing a beat. Coming into the season the coed team was ranked fourth nationally and the women 14th, the results from this weekend should only improve the teams' positions.

The coed team took part in three competitions. Two weekends ago they placed 2nd out of 18 teams in the Truxtun Umstead Trophy competition in Maryland. The four-division competition proved a little difficult for the Jumbos because they struggled in the two double-handed divisions. Fortunately, their strong work in the two single-handed races was enough to place Tufts second, ahead of rival Harvard.

Last weekend, the team was split between two regattas. Moderate winds caused some problems at the Atlantic Coast Monotype Invite as races were rescheduled and courses were modified. Tufts placed seventh out of 18 teams, which was a good result, but was overshadowed by the team's other successes.

In the Southern New England Team Race in Connecticut, the coed team finished second. Tufts tied Harvard in this round robin style event, both with 14-2 records. But the Jumbos lost out to the Crimson in the tiebreaker because Harvard won head to head.

The women's team opened their season before break with a disappointing 13th place finish at the Navy Spring Women's Intersectional, but they bounced back in their next competition at the St. Mary Women's Intersectional, finishing third behind Hawaii and the home team, St. Mary's.

Though the season just started, the teams are always looking ahead to New Englands and Nationals. Because of the successes of the sailing program over the past decade, such thinking is impossible to avoid.

"Early results are important for team confidence and morale, but it is a long season and we have to prove ourselves every week," women's captain Caroline Hall said when asked about the postseason.

This coming weekend the women should be hosting their first event of the season. The team is built on speed, so they really enjoy competing at home where the boats used are light, fast Lark dinghies.

"We are anxiously waiting for the lake to thaw so that this event can take place," Hall said.

Because of the advantage the team feels in competing at home in the Mystic Lake, the group would rather not change venues.

The coed team is also competing in Boston this weekend as they go to the Boston Dinghy Club Cup hosted by MIT and Harvard. Finishing ahead of Harvard in this upcoming race could go a long way for the team's confidence.